Evil Children in Religion, Literature, and Art

By Eric Ziolkowski

Book Overview

Evil Children in Religion, Literature and Art explores the genesis, development, and religious significance of a literary and iconographic motif, involving a gang of urchins, usually male, who mock or assault a holy or eccentric person, typically an adult. Originating in the biblical tale of Elisha's mockery (2 Kings 2.23-24), this motif recurs in literature, hagiography, and art, from antiquity up to our own time, strikingly defying the conventional Judeo-Christian and Romantic image of the child as a symbol of innocence.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0333918959
• ISBN13: 9780333918951
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
• Length: 253 Pages
• Weight: 1.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.5" x 9.5"